Unfortunate debut in England
Spoiled premiere “of course hurts” Füllkrug
Niclas Füllkrug is moving from Borussia Dortmund to West Ham United in the Premier League for a lot of money immediately before the start of the season. The league premiere is unfortunate for the German national striker.
National soccer player Niclas Füllkrug suffered a defeat on his debut in the English Premier League. With his new club West Ham United, the center forward lost 1:2 (1:1) at the start of the season against Champions League participants Aston Villa.
Füllkrug, who came to London from Borussia Dortmund for 27 million euros, had to wait 73 minutes before he was able to get a taste of the Premier League for the first time: the German international striker was among the 62,000 spectators for Michail, with great cheers from West Ham fans Antonio came on as a substitute – and had to watch a few minutes later as Jhon Duran scored the winning goal for the guests. The goal was prepared by Füllkrug's former teammate Ian Maatsen. Both played together for Borussia Dortmund last season. Amadou Onana (4th) gave Villa an early lead, Lucas Paqueta (37th, penalty kick) had meanwhile equalized for the hosts.
“It was okay that I didn't play”
“Of course that hurts, especially at an opener here at home that we should have ended with at least a draw,” said Füllkrug afterwards on Sky. He commented calmly on his late substitution – but at the same time made claims: “I've only been training for a week and a half. That's why it was okay that I didn't play straight away. I don't know the process 100 percent yet. But of course it will “Basically it boils down to the fact that I want to play – that's clearly my goal.” Apart from a harmless header in stoppage time, Füllkrug had no notable scenes in his first Premier League minutes.
His coach Julen Lopetegui, who was able to strengthen his squad in the summer for more than 120 million euros, was angry about the defeat, which was mainly caused by his team's weak defensive performance: “It's a shame for us and for our fans – we had big expectations and ambitions for this game,” he said. “We have to learn from the bad things and keep the good things we have.”
After the unpleasant impression, Füllkrug is also cautiously optimistic about the future: “I thought we were at least on equal terms today,” said the striker. “We have things we can build on and things we can improve on. That's a good way to start the season.”
